Mass Effect 2: Shadows
by WhoElseBut
Summary: This is a continuation of a Mass Effect: Shadows fanfic that I just wrapped up. Follows an OC through the events prior and during those of ME2. Major interaction with existing universe and characters as well as a rich original story I hope :D
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: All of the locations, characters, planets etc. are property of BioWare and are used here exclusively for fan fiction purposes. (aka they are not owned by me ;) )

This is a continuation of Mass Effect: Shadows (.net/s/4726350/1/) - I'd recommend reading that before just so there is a frame on the character… Enjoy.

Also, this has a lot of Original Events between first and second games with the OC that I developed in the previous story.

**Prologue**

The faint red light on the ceiling flickered on and off. Even on the Citadel there were places like this one, run down and almost abandoned. After the attack from Sovereign there was very little time to rebuild, and everyone worked hard. The Presidium took priority and most areas in the Wards remained unattended. Slums like these were most likely at the end of the list, and it would take a long time for these places to be rebuilt, let alone be policed properly.

The news report flashed on the wall, the small terminal connected through one of the electrical outlets in the room. The reports didn't stop, and they all said the same thing. The death of Commander Shepard was on every single news channel, after weeks of search the Alliance finally gave up and gave up hope. The reports spoke only that.

The door slid open and Josh walked back in. He threw a pistol onto his bed and followed soon after. He stretched towards the terminal, turning it off. He was tired of hearing about Shepard and the rest of the crew. From the reports he received, most survived, some even tried to contact him, but he was away, or so he wanted them to think. Stephanie Shepard was one of the few members who died, as the reports stated 'heroically.'

The communicator rang, and Josh reached for it. The name on the scanner came up as 'unknown,' but he got used to that. Tali really did a good job coding the channel.

"Hello," his voice was coarse from few days of hard work.

"Josh?" Tali's sounded the same after a few months of not hearing her. "Is that really you? I didn't think anyone maintained this channel after so much time. I didn't even know the Normandy was down until today."

"Really?" Josh's voice got a little better.

"The flotilla is often locked away from outside world," Tali explained. "We do not get to learn any news until we come around a populated planet for trading. Everyone else is shut away though, you're the first I could reach."

"Everyone is off the grid?" Josh asked.

"Yes," Tali answered, "what the hell is going on?!"

"I don't know," Josh answered. "You're talking to the wrong man. No one else is panicking. There is simply a memorial service, nothing else."

"Was it the Reapers?" Tali pressed on.

"I don't know Tali," Josh said, sadness in his voice. "Shepard is dead, that's all. No one knows what to say… I have another call Tali, I'll let you know if I learn anything."

"Please do Josh," Tali answered and hung up as Josh switched to a different channel.

"Hello?" Josh answered for the second time.

"Welcome back to reality," a familiar Australian accent was on the other side. "You watched any news?"

"Shepard is dead…" Josh stated casually.

"Upset?"

"It was coming to that once she went missing," Josh reasoned. "No one gets spaced and survives. What do you need?"

"I got what you asked for," Miranda responded. "A number of profiles, dossiers and other information. Josh, I got a job for you."

"I need the profiles first," Josh pressed.

"Fair enough," Miranda agreed, before adding with slightly flirtatious undertones, "the usual meeting place."

With that she broke the communication. Josh sat in silence staring at the wall. In the background a female news reporter was once again repeating that Stephanie Shepard is officially declared dead by the Alliance. Things couldn't get much worse at the moment.


	2. Chapter 1: The Sophisticated Assassin

Disclaimer: All of the locations, characters, planets etc. are property of BioWare and are used here exclusively for fan fiction purposes. (aka they are not owned by me ;) )

Looking forward to your reviews on this one... ;)

**Chapter 1**

**The Sophisticated Assassin**

The presidium area of the Citadel got cleaned up fairly quickly after the attack. Every time he visited Josh found himself impressed by the efficiency of the staff. They cleaned up fast, despite everything. Even thought the wards remained a major mess, the politically important areas such as the presidium were quickly brought back to order.

What surprised people the most were the keepers. The small creatures responded to the damage done to the Citadel with efficiency and speed unseen from them before. That in turn spurred more research initiatives to look into them. Soon no doubt someone would discover the keeper's true purpose, but luckily the Prothean re-coding of the Citadel systems stood. The keepers were no longer slaves of the Reapers.

Josh sat on the bench, staring at the lake, studying it closely. It was early in the day, but many diplomatic representatives were already en route the their meetings. The council took on the cases almost non-stop after Sovereign's attack, and there was little rest for all the council members, including Chancellor Anderson.

Josh was yanked out of his thought by Miranda's appearance. The Aussie's slender form took a place on the bench right next to him, graciously throwing one leg over the other. She was carrying something that looked like a filing folder from the past.

"Nice day," she mused, "isn't it. Almost makes me feel bad that I can't spend more time out here."

"Really…" Josh sounded slightly sarcastic.

"Still no trust I see," Miranda jested, running her hand through her hair quickly. "What do I have to do for you to believe me? Not sell you out the Illusive Man? Protect your family? I think I'm pretty high on that checklist."

"Believe it or not," Josh answered quickly, "I am still not to convinced."

"Well," Miranda brushed the comments off with ease, "believe it or not, I don't care. The Illusive Man would have zero interest with you now, after Shepard's death that is. He has moved on to bigger and better things… I on the other hand, do have a few jobs you could handle."

"Why am I not surprised," Josh sounded a bit to grim for his own liking, so he quickly moved the conversation on. "I really don't care, as long as you have everything we agreed on."

"Right here," Miranda stretched forward a folder, Josh took it off her hands and starting looking through it. Instead of a number of data chips for the omni tool he found neatly arranged pieces of paper instead.

"Kind of old school," Josh commented on the format, "don't you think?"

"It's not easy obtaining that information," Miranda shrugged, "be happy you have it at all. The data chip in there has the last known and/or traceable locations."

"One more thing," Josh took out the small data chip and looked at it in the sun. "I need the profiles of the Normandy crew, not everyone, just the ground team. I want to know where they are now, what they have been doing after and during Shepard's disappearance."

"One step ahead of you," Miranda stretched forward her hand with another data chip squeezed in between her index and middle fingers. "I figured you might ask for something as trivial as that so I went ahead and looked it all up before hand."

"Aren't you a peach," Josh continued his sarcastic tone as he got up and accepted the chip before turning to go.

"One more thing," Miranda grabbed him by the wrist, gently as she could for some reason. "I got a small token of trust for you as well."

"Don't need it," Josh brushed it off, freeing his hand.

"If you're going to do what you plan," Miranda got up ready to follow him, "you definitely do. Won't you even hear me out."

"Fine," Josh stopped and leaned on the railings over the canal instead, facing Miranda.

"You have a small 'present' docked in one of the Citadel's docking bays," Miranda hinted at what it was.

"A ship?" Josh felt surprised. "I can see how that can be useful… Why?"

"I need you to do a few things for me," Miranda explained, "and I need you to carry them out quickly and efficiently. This ensures that. Consider this a form of advance payment."

"So you're not planning to provide any actual payment?" Josh smiled.

"I said advance payment," Miranda clarified.

"Do I have a choice in accepting it or not?"

"No," Miranda answered straight, "not really."

"You do realize I can't pilot?"

"Don't you worry about that," the Cerberus operative attempted to put Josh at ease. "I've taken care of that. It is a prototype vessel anyways, fully equipped with the VI, as well a first class pilot."

"Someone I can trust?"

"I'll let you be the judge of that," Miranda smiled and leaned in to kiss Josh on the cheek with a smile before she walked away.

Josh stood there for another second staring at the woman walk away. She always did this after their meetings, throw him off with her flirtatious behavior. He quickly gathered up and walked down the Presidium towards the elevators. There was no point to wasting time and spending more time on the Citadel. He hated the place.

As he walked, Josh tried to ignore most things around him, without pausing. There were people still rushing as he made it past the newly erected monument to the heroes of the Citadel. Shepard's name would be added to that soon enough, considering that she died quite recently. Furthermore there was talk of scouting another human for the SPECTREs. The Alliance also sponsored a new Stephanie Shepard Academy.

On his way to the space docks, Josh took a pause through the C-Sec requisitions store, picking up a few new weapons. Apparently there were new prototypes in, discarding the older heating system, allowing for weapons to have a heating clip, acting as a magazine in older weapons. Josh didn't risk taking on new weaponry and stuck to older models for the job.

The elevator ride down to the docks was the longest one. Josh tried to remember the first time he saw the Normandy and tried to imagine what this ship looked like. He didn't quite like Miranda offering him something like this, creating further ties, but he couldn't refused, especially since she offered him a lot of other things he asked for.

As the doors opened Josh guided himself towards the appropriate platform, spotting the ship from afar. It was rather small as opposed to everything other vessel he saw. The doors opened letting him through into the ship. The insider was quite constricted, opening directly to the pilot's cabin and the comm. room which was about three times smaller than that of the Normandy. There was someone sitting in the pilot seat, a cap obscuring the person's face. As Josh walked up, the chair turned, revealing a familiar face.

"Well this is quite a surprise," Joker laughed as he stretched his hand towards Josh as they shook hands. "Working for Cerberus now?"

"Not really," Josh shrugged, "more of a mutual alliance relationship than anything else."

"Sure, sure," Joker nodded, "whatever helps you sleep at night Josh. Just so you know, I'm not here to judge."

"So how did you ended up in this position?" Josh asked, "I mean, best pilot in the Alliance, surely you would have your pick of stations."

"Yeah," Joker admitted, "but it didn't feel right flying any other Alliance vessel after the Normandy went down. It's just not the same. Besides, they tried to stick me onto some rusty tub. Then this Miranda chick came about, an ass on her by the way, and offered this gig. I figured it's something. The ship as impressive, nearly the same cloaking capabilities as the Normandy. Besides, it only needs one man to operate it, yours truly. Everything else is operated by a VI, which I have muted at the moment. Seen the rest of the ship yet?"

"No," Josh shook his head, "not really."

"It's nothing too impressive," Joker sighed, "all just one level. Beyond the communication room over there, there are five sleeping quarters, rather small if I may add. A weapons room, and what seems to be the kitchen. Took me a while to find the toilets though, right by the fridge if you're wondering. So… Where to now?"

Josh thought for a second, considering the info Miranda gave him. He looked over it on the omni tool in the elevator and would now upload it into the ships database. For the moment, he knew only one sure location, "Omega," Josh said firmly.

"Sure thing," Joker smiled, "prime vacation destination if you're a drug or a weapons smuggler. Off we go."

The pilot keyed in the coordinates into the computer and started operating the ship. Josh stood to see the pilot work, it seemed that the man got even better. It would be even more interesting to see how well he would handle it further down the road, but for now it was good.

"I have to read something," Josh explained himself as he turned.

"Sure thing," Joker nodded, "if you need anything, let me know."

Josh made his way into the cabin quickly scouting out the biggest room in behind the communication area. It was clear that this was reserved for him. He quickly took off his shotgun and pistol and threw them onto the chair. There was some time until they reached Omega and it was time to read. He quickly opened the folder and was about to start, but then he paused and closed it back up, taking out the small chip instead, connecting it to the omni tool.

The information flashed onto the screen, quickly Josh browsed through the names he was interested in. Out of a few names, Josh chose the one he wanted to find out about the most at the moment.

_Urdnot Wrex _

_Current Location: Tuchanka _

_After the attack on the Citadel, Urdnot Wrex has disengaged from the SSV Normandy squad and returned to the krogan home world. The krogan has assumed a leadership position within clan Urdnot, in an attempt to unite further clans. At the present moment, Wrex is operating on Tuchanka attempting to bring more clans under the Urdnot name. Despite the krogan violent nature, Wrex has shown his disdain for violent confrontation with other clans, arguing instead that the krogan need to unite for survival, and killing each other in territorial wars wouldn't do anything._

Josh felt something when reading those pages. After spending a lot of time with Wrex he understood the krogan more and saw why he would return to his home world, even after a 'so-called' exile. Bothering Wrex for what Josh had planned would be useless so he left the idea alone. He had other names on the list, but chose to put them aside for now. Instead, he returned to the paper folders, studying the first dossier.

_Name: L'vina Therri_

_Home World: Thessia_

_Parents: Unknown_

_Last Known Location: Omega Station_

_L'vina was born on Thessia, however the identity of her parents remains unknown. Like most asari she excels in biotics. Because of her upbringing on the asari home planet, L'vina prefers to maintain an extravagant lifestyle. She has escaped the asari academy at age 100 and was rarely heard since. Goes under a number of aliases. _

_L'vina specializes in hand to hand combat and small arms. Her specialty is silent infiltration and assassination. She has been linked to a fair share of high profile assassinations as well as a number of heists. Considered extremely dangerous and is flagged by the Citadel as a Most Wanted individual, approach with extreme caution._

_Footnote:_

_Early in her career, L'vina was betrayed by her partner a human named Amanda. It was one of the initial years of Citadel contact with humanity. Amanda is currently retired and resides on Earth. Bringing this up may let you pull a few strings during negotiations (Miranda)._

"Should be a fun little trip," Josh said to himself as he closed the folder and decided to get some shut eye before Omega.

MExMExMExME

"Pulling into Omega now," Joker said. There was a pause after he said that as if he was about to add 'Commander.' Josh understood why Joker didn't do it and didn't expect the pilot to. As far as anyone was concerned both of them were equal. It wasn't fair to Joker that he got a bum deal from the Alliance just because of his illness.

As the ship pulled into the docking bay Josh was already ready to go out. His normal clothes were on him as well as a pistol and a shotgun. He knew Omega was not safe and it would be ill advise to be caught un armed. He was here once before and knew the place for what it was, and as much as he hated it, for some reason it drew him back.

Here, everyone existed outside the illusions ran by the Citadel. On Omega everyone knew that the world operated in shades of grey, that most things got decided by the size of the gun more often than diplomatic solutions. This was where most people would come if they needed a mercenary in demand, or a world class assassin, they could all be found on Omega. The Citadel let the station go, allowing it to form its own form of government. To those outside of the system Omega was a dark stain, to those who knew more of it, a necessary evil.

Joker nodded to Josh as the decontamination doors opened letting the man out. With sure steps he walked right out into the most dangerous place he has ever travelled to. And he has been to get infested Ilos.

Josh had heard that Omega has undergone a much welcomed regime change, an asari establishing herself as a de facto ruler of the station. It appeared that she has taken out the competition efficiently, establishing herself to be in charge. He had never heard the name before, but was sure it meant many things down here. If there was anyone who knew of L'vina's location, it would be this woman.

The main square of Omega opened to the biggest club in the area, the Afterlife. It seemed much cleaner than the areas Josh frequented on his last visit. It appeared that even though the station remained a rundown hole, whoever was in charge still kept to appearance, bringing out their base of operations as the 'safer' region.

The turian bouncer was a little too comfortable at his position, quite possibly due to the fact that he was being backed up by two more krogan at the main entrance into Afterlife. Josh ignored the cue, he knew the way Omega worked. Anyone who wanted to wait in line did so, nearly forever. With Miranda's intel as well as his personal experience Josh was more than sure he could ignore the 'regulars' rule.

"Where the fuck you think you're going?" the turian put forth his talons placing them firmly on Josh's chest. It always amused Josh how much the other species got accustomed to using regular swear words.

"Inside," Josh didn't appear too bothered by the gesture. "Got some business to handle, wouldn't want to wait that long either."

As he finished saying that Josh swiped the bouncers hand of his body and moved forward forcefully. The turian acted quickly to grab him at the wrist, making sure that the two krogan step forward as well.

"Well," the bouncer's voice got slightly more firm, "I think we got a few other plans for you."

"Wouldn't do that if I were you," Josh gave a fair warning. Something in his own mannerisms reminded himself of Wrex at this moment.

"Really?" the turian didn't sound impressed.

Josh turned quickly, twisting the bouncer's hand at the wrist with his opposite hand. He used the inertia in the turian's movement forward to spin him around. As the bouncer's grip loosened Josh twisted to put him between himself and the krogan who had their weapons out. Neither of the other two bouncers shot, Josh wasn't in much of a hurry either. He was using the third bouncer as a live shied, his pistol aimed at one of the remaining two.

"Take it easy," one of the krogan said, "no one needs to die here."

"If you think we care much for his life you're mistaken," the other bouncer was a little less calm, his voice a bit higher.

"What the fu…" the turian was about to respond.

"Shhh," Josh closed the grip on his shield's neck, "grown ups are talking. Look, I'm not waiting in the cue… I'm here to see Aria, that is all. I need to ask her about someone."

"What makes you think she wants to see you," the calmer krogan asked, signaling his buddy to keep calm.

"A hunch," Josh was honest, "nothing more."

A bit of static came through on the krogan's radio. He signaled to his friend to keep aim at Josh and answered the call. There was inaudible dialogue on the other side mixed with a fair amount of static after which the krogan lowered his gun completely, looking back at Josh. "You may go through, but keep your weapons holstered at all time, because trust me, you won't have time to fire away."

Josh nodded, releasing the turian who fell quickly to his knees and gave a resentful stare. Josh ignored that and moved past the two krogan into afterlife. His pistol was already safely at his hip as he walked into the club.

From the first glance Afterlife looked a lot like the Flux or Chorra's Den on the Citadel, but if one dug deeper the club revealed itself in a different light. In every corner there was something different, drugs, weapon trading, mercenary works. Josh knew not to pay too much attention to everything around him, it was beneficial to his own lifespan.

Aria was in the back, surrounded by security and her own personal guests. As it got closer to that area the crowed thinned out, it felt as if entering a vacuum. Josh ignored all that, he knew what he was here for. From his previous visit to Omega it was clear that no one here gave a damn about anyone else, you had to force the issue to get anything done. To do that he needed whoever was in charge, and in often fluxating power structure of Omega currently it was Aria.

A batarian bounce stepped forward quickly, stretching his arm forward and signaling to Josh to stop. There was no time for arguing now. As Josh stopped the bouncer came forward, taking out a scanner and running it up and down Josh's body. The scanner ignored the guns, they assumed he had them. What they were looking for was any kind of a bug. The scan didn't come up with anything and the batarian let Josh come forth.

"Not every day does someone come at my front door asking for trouble like that," Aria was sitting in a comfortable couch. If she cared to turn around she would be overlooking the whole of Afterlife. Josh assumed she knew exactly what she would see because the asari ignored it completely. "Well, pull up a seat, what can I do for you?"

Josh hesitated but took a couch seat next to the asari, both her bouncers never taking their eyes of him. "That easy? I somehow doubt that."

"Well common, it's not every day that someone meets one of the saviors of the _mighty council_," Aria did little to hide her sarcasm, although that sentence was more to show Josh that she knew who he was and wasn't worried. "I wouldn't let you leave without letting you explain who the hell do you think you are?! Come into my station? Threaten my employees? That's gutsy, I'll give you that… So… What do you need?"

"Who do I need," Josh corrected, feeling a bit more at ease. He could see that Aria was simply establishing her authority, he would act like he cared.

"And I should give someone up for free because?" Aria played the game as well as anyone else. She would be good at information trading in the organized world.

"I would assume a presence of a highly respected assassin would worry someone who is trying to maintain a grip on a very fragile anarchy," Josh suggested, trying to see how much he could get away with.

"Is that a threat?" Aria smiled, leaning back into her couch.

"No, no" Josh reassured, "just a mere observation. If a passerby can see this, I am sure everyone else has already considered."

"So you're offering me to take L'vina off Omega," Aria was clearly considering the offer. "I'd love to see you accomplish that, except, I do not know where she is. Even I can't keep tabs on her, but I know the last general area."

Josh knew well that Aria was lying. She knew well where L'vina was, that was not something that she wouldn't ignore a threat to power like that. There was probably constant surveillance on the assassin, but Arian didn't want to seem week before her people, she had to appeal to the power plays. He waited for the tip though.

"Go to the slums," Aria suggested, "she was last seen around there. The area is crowded with mercenaries though, so I'll be careful." She paused considering what to say next. "If you kill a few of them I wouldn't mind."

Josh nodded and got up. He turned to the exit but one of the batarians stepped just in front of him. It was clear that Aria wasn't done. Josh turned back to face the asari. Her hand was now extended and she had a data pad in it. Josh reached to accept it.

"I can't do certain things," Aria admitted. "As ironic as it is, once you are in power in Omega you must restrict a lot of things… What is that human phrase… appeal to appearances or something like that? In any case, there is a salarian scientist who runs a clinic in the slums. I need you to give him that, and consider us even after that."

As Josh accepted the pad Aria waved him off with her hand, signifying that the conversation was over. Josh quickly turned and walked out of the special area. He quickly headed out of Afterlife, not making eye contact with anyone. Now that he has gone to see area there were more eyes fixed on him. Curiosity was a dangerous thing in Omega, it often got people killed.

The way to the slums took Josh through the market, past shady dealers and other sleazebags. There wasn't a thing one couldn't find on Omega, from basic cooking equipment to the most high tech weapons. Of course, you always had to pay double.

As Josh entered the slums he quickly noticed that there was a batarian on his tail. The main hallway took him into an open space. It appeared that this would be the main square of the area, but it was surprisingly empty, except for two more vorcha and another batarian. All three moved towards Josh right away as soon as he entered their field of sight.

"Well, well," the batarian said rubbing his hands together, "what do we have here? Are you lost?"

"No," Josh smiled arrogantly, "I think I can find where I'm going thanks."

"Ha… Ha… Ha," one of the vorcha moved forward, "he's a funny one. I say we claw his eyes out."

"Yes, yes, yes," the other one joined in. Josh hated the disgusting creatures, they came with nothing but trouble. Low life cowards, always in groups and ready to stab anyone in the back, plus the smell.

"I think you don't understand," the second batarian's voice was much more of a baritone. Besides, he appeared to have his gun pressed into Josh's back. "You are lost… We weren't asking."

"I wouldn't do that if I was you," Josh suggested raising his arms slowly.

"Or what?" the batarian who appeared to be the leader laughed from behind.

Josh didn't say anything else, but moved quickly. His left hand swung around knocking the pistol away from himself and turning towards the batarian. His right already gripped a pistol, losing a few bullets into the enemy. His leg went up connecting with one of the vorcha's chins, sending the creature back into the square. The other batarian was still shook up by what happened and the fact that one of his friends was clearly dead. The second vorcha didn't consider much but charged. Josh planted his gun between the creature's eyes, waiting just long enough for the vorcha to focus both his eyes on the gun. The shot blew the creature's brains directly into the middle of the square.

The batarian gained some sort of reaction and rush with a knife in his hand. Josh stepped back, but not before the sharp weapon skidded against his abdominal, tearing through the t-shirt and drawing blood. Quickly, he brought his hand onto the enemy's wrist, knocking the knife out. With the other hand he gun butted the batarian. As the enemy backed up Josh extended his shooting arm and shot a few more rounds.

The last vorcha got up, looking around for his allies. The low life creature realized that it was alone up against Josh. It stared at the enemy and then turned to run. It didn't get far however as Josh raised his gun arm and fired, dropping the enemy. He walked up to the batarian who was the leader and rolled the body over with his foot.

"To be fair," Josh wiped his stomach with a handkerchief, dropping it on the body after, "I did warn you."

It seemed that the word spread quickly. Luckily, the four that attacked were lowlifes, not belonging to any mercenary group. No one seemed to bother Josh though, knowing that he was serious. He still didn't relax. The clinic was hard to find, hidden away further than Josh anticipated. He hated taking a long time looking for the scientist because he had other things to take care of. On the other hand however, the salarian could possibly have some information.

The doors were shut and Josh had to knock. The small light lit up, signifying that the security camera was on. A little bit of static was followed by an inquiry, "purpose of visit."

"I have something for whoever runs that clinic," Josh said.

There was a pause, followed by a few switches and an open door. On the other side there was a human female, holding an assault rifle. "You have something for Mordin Solus? What is it?"

"You think I'm giving it to you?" Josh knew he needed to see the doctor, this woman was nothing but a guard, she wouldn't know anything of value.

The woman didn't say anything but simply indicating for Josh to follow her. There weren't too many people here, a few who were didn't seem too good. A few were sitting and coughing into napkins. One was bleeding with his back against the wall. A few assistants were helping that one out, working to stop the bleeding. The last door took him into an open lab, a Salarian was working frantically at sewing someone up.

"No. No. No," Mordin was chattering to himself. "All wrong. Initial assessment not appropriate. Must be more careful. No time. Bleeding out. Must work fast."

The salarian performed a few more actions, clearly tense as he worked on it. Josh waited, leaning on the wall, studying the man. The way the doctor's fingers moved was impressive, it was like watching a ballet, or a painter at work. There was intricacy to it.

"Well now," Mordin wiped his hands and turned to Josh. "All done. Wound sawn up. Estimated recovery time – 4 days. Not too long. Patient should be fine. You… How can I help? Be quick. Little time. Too many people to help." As the doctor talked he kept moving from spot to spot, never standing still, always somewhat twitchy. It made Josh somewhat uncomfortable.

"I got something for you," Josh stretched forth a data pad, "but I also need to ask you a question."

"Question?" Mordin accepted the data pad, studying it before laying it down on the nearby table. "Interesting. What about? General wondering? Precise inquiry? Ask. No time. People to help, lives to save."

"Have you encountered an asari," Josh paused considering how he should phrase this to an obviously unstable doctor, "someone who perhaps didn't belong here? Didn't feel like it?"

"Well armed. Sophisticated," Mordin brought his hand up to his chin, "yes. Yes. I know who you're talking about it. Patched her up. She left. Might come back. Never know. Know her whereabouts if needed. Can write them down for you. Can't help but notice, you're injured, bleeding. Not good. Slums dirty, may catch an infection. Let me patch you up."

Josh considered for a second, looking first at his wound then at the doctor. After a few seconds he nodded, sitting down on one of the beds. Mordin got to work, his fingers once again moving with incredible speed and grace, first he cleaned the wound then worked at closing it. It was deeper than Josh first thought.

"As for the asari," Mordin went on as he was working. "Patient doctor confidentiality. Can't reveal much. Would break trust. Not good, especially on Omega."

"What if I offered you something in return?" Josh suggested. "We would consider it an exchange, and no one would find out."

"Deal?" Solus was clearly intrigued, "what can you offer? Weapons? Don't need them. Money? Neither. I suppose. No, no. Impossible. You can't have that. No medical equipment. You're too… violent."

"Here is how it will work," Josh suggested, realizing this was his only option. He needed this, and that meant risking. "I'll let you examine me, and if you find something of value in my genetic structure, or inside my organism, you get to choose whether or not let me know the whereabouts.

"Interesting," Mordin went on. "Clearly a bargain. I could lie, you put too much trust. Confident though, sure of self. You probably know something I don't. Very well, deal."

Josh looked at the salarian, only now settling into the manner the scientist carried himself. It was if he had ADD or was on some serious drugs. There was little too lose though, and much to gain. He needed L'vina and Mordin clearly knew where she was. He assumed the assassin would make a valuable contact out of the scientist, using him as a temporary base at some point even. Josh simply needed to know where she was.

"When do you want to start then?" Josh asked.

"Now," Mordin pushed Josh onto the bed, turning on the lights and pulling forth a gas mask. "Relax. Mild anesthetic, won't take much. You'll be out for a bit. Let me work. I'll be careful."

MExMExMExME

Josh came too after some time. He tried to figure out how long he was out, but nothing gave away that. Mordin was at the side, by one of the tables. He was studying carefully something in a beaker, it looked like blood. The salarian was completely into his work, one hand holding the beaker, the other running frantically through a computer digital keyboard.

"Most interesting," Mordin sounded impressed, "no. No. Amazing. Incredible. How could one? Coming across something like this. Never heard of this. Not even when working with… No, no. No details. Subject may come too soon. Interesting. How did he come across… Should ask."

"Let's call it a corporate secret," Josh sat up, cracking his neck and stretching his arms. He hated being unconscious, it felt like hypnosis.

"You're back," Mordin was shaking the beaker in front of Josh, "this vial. Incredible. Amazing. I can do so much with it. Just think. Synthesize structure. Find carriers. Apply. Reproduce. Possibly transfer to other species. So much work. So little time. Must start now."

"So I take it you'll let me know where I can find my… friend," Josh suggested.

"Definitely," Mordin nodded frantically, writing something down on a piece of paper. "Here, not far. Shouldn't be hard to find. Far district. She uses a key word. My security was given this one," Mordin wrote something else down. "Be careful. Asari is… dangerous, unstable. Unpredictable."

"Thanks," Josh took the paper and nodded.

He walked out of the room, not turning back, making sure he had his weapons with him first. Mordin was too lost in the research now. It appeared that the hallway was more empty than before. Solus must have had assistants working on some of the patients. Those he found more crucial in condition he attended too himself. The security woman was still there, giving him a brief look of distaste as he exited.

Mordin's paper led Josh through a labyrinth of doors and hallways. The streets of the slums seemed to be a lot more alive, most likely due to the fact that Josh was out for longer than he thought. It was 'day' again on Omega.

L'vina clearly was familiar with the area, choosing as good a place as she could. Even in the slums there would be a district for those of higher status to exist, this area reflected that. There were a few guards at the door, looking around with a worry, hesitating before letting Josh in. After a while they decided for it and let him through.

Once he found the appropriate door Josh knocked a few times, no answer came. After a few more attempts there was some static on the communication unit by the door. Josh took out the piece of paper and read out loud, "A dying man needs to die, as a sleepy man needs to sleep, and there comes a time when it is wrong, as well as useless, to resist.1"

The door slid open after that letting Josh in. The apartment was dip, barely lit. There were a few candles and a glass of wine on a small coffee table in the middle. The slight aroma in the air also reminded Josh of some asari cheeses that his sister loved so much. This definitely appeared to be L'vina's apartment, all signs pointed to it. A few more steps in, and Josh felt the cold steel of a knife pressing up directly against his spine.

"Well," came an interested voice from behind, almost a whisper that tickled his ear, "I do not remember you. This should be interesting."

He felt her twist his arm behind his back and lead him to the couch. His gun was on the floor and so was the shotgun, he was completely weaponless in face of danger. Meanwhile the asari didn't let down her guard. Even as she was twisting him at the wrist, her touch seemed gentle, calming. It appeared that she was as much at peace as she was aware of everything around her.

"Sit," L'vina pushed him onto the couch. As soon as Josh turned he saw her in full height, a pistol in the hand where a knife just was.

To say that she wasn't beautiful would be a lie. Josh never found the asari particularly attractive, but for her he made every exception in his mind. L'vina was tall and slender, her long legs coming out from a slit in her dress. The shape of her face seemed symmetrical and rounded, Josh found comfort in that perfection. The lips called to be touched. But the real beauty was in the eyes. They drew him into an abyss of unexplained feelings, somewhere where he never wanted to visit again.

"Since you're interrupting my little party," L'vina sat in a chair across from him, crossing one leg over the other slowly, making sure he was watching, "you get to entertain me. Who are you? And what do you need?"

"Name's Josh," he was honest about that at least, "and I wanted to offer you a job."

"There are other channels," L'vina reached for the wine with her free hand, "talk to my handler. I only take on high profile contracts."

"It's of a more," Josh considered how to put the next phrase, "permanent nature. I am forming somewhat of a team… Only high profile contracts."

"Not interested," L'vina took some wine and put the glass back.

"Hear me out," Josh pressed on.

"Teams are too messy," the assassin denied him an opening. "Too many people, crowded. The true skill lies in the shadows. One must exist outside reality, borderline non-existence. The better you are, the closer you get to your target."

"It pays," Josh didn't give up, "good money."

"I'm not much for good money," L'vina gave something that was clearly a lie, what she meant she had very little need for it with her reputation."

"I can give you Amanda," Josh went with his last resort.

The room lowered into silence, L'vina studying his face as he stared at her. She was clearly thinking about it now. Her body went still, but her eyes, and more importantly her pistol were still aimed at Josh. He knew that this was his last chance. If she said yes it would be perfect, if she said no, nothing would change her mind after this. He played the trump card, and now all he could do was wonder if he did so too early.

"How?" she was caught in the net.

"There are ways," Josh began, "I know where she is. I can give her to you. Consider it an act of goodwill. In exchange you work with me. I promise, it will utilize the most of your abilities… Stealth included."

"Amanda?" L'vina was convincing herself now it appeared. "Really? It's been… Too long. I haven't seen her in at least a decade… And I've been _looking_… And if I don't like the nature of the job?"

"You wash your hands and walk away," Josh said, before adding after a brief pause, "after the first three jobs."

"Sounds reasonable enough," L'vina finally lowered her gun and went to her win, "but first you help me. Prove me that your little, enterprise, is going to be worth my time. I am here on the job, you help me with it, I'll give your thing a shot. The only thing is, we split everything even, no matter the reward. I may be a criminal, but I have values… Consider me the equivalent of your… Robin Hood, I guess."

Josh nodded, finally relaxed. He stood up and picked up his weapons under close supervision from the asari. She wasn't paying much attention to him after he got back to the couch, more involved with her wine and cheese than his presence. It clearly wasn't the time for conversation now, and Josh was sure that L'vina would explain everything that she needed him to do after she was done here. After that, hopefully, they could move on to the next profile.

MExMExMExME

The VIP area of the Afterlife wasn't much different from the regular one. Some people assumed that since it was indeed a higher class area that those around weren't meddling drugs, guns, or other illegal activity, but those people were wrong. Those in the VIP of Afterlife, or anywhere in the VIP on Omega were just much better at illegal activities and took on a higher quantity.

L'vina's plan was simple enough, but there was one variable she didn't appear to account for. When it was all said and done, the Afterlife was Aria's place of operation, the clever asari knew everything that went on in it. There was no predicting how the matriarch of Omega would react, what she would have in store for both of them. The assassin didn't seem too trouble at the notion, comfortably at ease. She was already in the opposite side of Omega, talking to the target.

The portly human was in the presence of three turian bodyguards, stalking his every step. From the profile L'vina gave Josh, that man was not one of the best residents of the Council space. He operated from the Citadel, dealing within the grey areas of the galactic law. Recently, he started to expand down slightly more questionable avenues, stepping on many toes. One of the people that got crossed over turned to the assassin to fix the problem. The poor guy, too hypnotized by the asari's beauty had no idea what was coming for him. A swift death, most likely at the edge of the knife.

Josh watched as L'vina took the human by the arm and led him to the darker area of the club, the bouncers following slowly at their backs. As the whole group passed by Josh, the asari gave him a quick wink, inviting him to follow them. He took a couple of quick breaths and downed a battlemaster, a vile krogan concoction, in something that became a ritual since he met Wrex.

L'vina and her follower settled on one of the couches, the turian bodyguards on either side when Josh already walked up. One of the turians moved to intercept him, but he moved to fast for the bodyguard. Josh quickly planted both his palms on the table, leaning forwards, making sure he drooled a lot and his eyes didn't see too focused. All was going according to plan so far.

"You b… bitch," he said to L'vina, slurring his words on purpose, "how dare you show up here after last time. I thought I was clear enough. No one refuses me… No ONE!"

"Hey," the human tried to act as the protector, although from the looks of him he relied more on the turian force than on his own strength, "I don't think that's a way to talk to a lady."

"A lady?" Josh gave out a mock laugh, losing some saliva on the table, "her? You can't possibly be serious about that one. She is nothing more than a whore… I high profile whore. She'll fuck anything that move as long as the wallet is thick enough."

"That's enough," the target was losing his patience as he slammed his hand on the table and stood up. "I think it's time for you to go!"

"Yeah," Josh laughed again, reaching for the man's neck. Before he got there, one of the turians was already on him, restricting one of his arms.

Josh reacted quickly, moving a bit too quick for someone who was supposed to be drunk, but it was necessary. He twisted, reversing the adversary's grip on his wrist and slamming the turian into the table, making the fat man jump up. The other guard was already there, throwing a swing through the air. Josh ducked under and push forward, taking the turian with him. Within a moment they were both on the floor, rolling and trying to connect a punch. Josh was first as his forehead met the guard's nose right before he felt two sets of hands drag him off the stunned enemy.

The other two guards had him suspended as the third turian got up, wiping the thick liquid dripping from his nose. He spit out some more before rushing with a punch aimed for Josh's abs. Quickly, Josh pushed his feet of the ground and raised them to hit the attacker square in the chest, sending him back at the wall. For that, he received a hit to the back of the head and got thrown to the floor. Before he could even gather himself Josh felt a foot kicking into his chest.

Everything ended as suddenly as it started, with a scream. All three turians turned at once and rushed back to their boss. The human was bleeding out, lying on the table, his throat cut open. These guys were armatures, turning their backs on the employer all at once. L'vina must have had an easy way out.

Josh scrambled to his feet, and got his back against the wall. All three turians turned to him and headed towards him. As they got closer, two krogan led by a batarian interrupted the brawl, stopping everyone in their tracks. Guns were not allowed in the VIP section, no weapons were. What L'vina used would remain a mystery.

"What is going on," the batarian asked, signifying he was in charge.

"He," one of the turians pointed at Josh, "he killed our employer. He had an accomplice, an asari!"

"Are you stupid," Josh put on his 'drunk-man' routine again, "did it sound like I was in league with her? I hate that bitch, she's a common place whore who will do everything to get paid. She probably saw a chance for a quick pay and grabbed it."

"You'd think so wouldn't you," the turian went on, "clever plan you know. Don't believe you though."

"Boy do I give a fuck if you do or not," Josh smirked, "you're the one who turned to fight me leaving… whoever that i… was tet-a-tet with a back stabbing prostitute."

"Did anyone see him talk to the asari," the batarian decided to take control, "exchange any signals? Pass anything on?"

There was silence.

"Then it's done," batarian turned to Josh, "you're free to go. As for the rest of you, come with me. We will see the matriarch and investigate this matter further."

Josh rubbed his ribs as he headed towards the exit. One more time he turned to see the turians taken away by the batarian guard. He saw the main bodyguard burying a gaze into his back. Josh didn't care though, and within seconds he had his weapons back from the main guard and headed straight out the door. From here on it was a straight path back to his ship, L'vina would meet him there.

The shady alleys kept him aware at all times, just in case anyone else was stupid enough to try and rob him again, but luckily everyone would stay away this time. Josh had no time for bullshit, he wanted to be off Omega as fast as possible. The area on the last stretch to the spaceport was the darker area of Omega, even though he was confident Josh preferred to keep to the light just in case. There were scarier things on Omega than simple muggers.

"That was… Impressive," L'vina's voice came from the shadows. "I have to hand it to you. You held them off quite well. I can see you've had training."

"You're good to go?" Josh didn't react much to her appearance visibly, but inside his head he was trying to figure out how long she was walking beside him.

"Got everything that I need," L'vina answered, "anything else can be bought wherever we're going next."

"Shouldn't you get paid before you leave?"

"Aria always pays me in advance," came another quick answer, "she trusts me too much. That may be her downfall with other assassins, but not with me. I guess that's why she keeps getting me, even for the jobs below my level."

Josh smiled. He kind of saw it coming after the mission. The way with which the batarian handled the issue was too easy, too simple. In most cases Josh would have been taken in as well, but not this time. It also revealed why Aria wasn't too scared of Josh's suggestion about L'vina. He wouldn't be surprised if the assassin helped this particular matriarch's rise to power. This would be an interesting trip indeed.

1 Steward Alsop


	3. Chapter 2: Forgotten Soldier

**I do not own any of the Mass Effect Universe, or any of the ME original characters. All of those are property of BioWare…**

**Ummmm, because it took me so long to write this chapter, I was coming in and out of it and I think it is… well, shit… Please don't get turned off as I promise to make up for this in a third chapter. **

Chapter 2

**The Forgotten Soldier**

_Name: Arturus Grant_

_Age: 44_

_Occupation: Currently Unemployed_

_Parents: _

_Father – George Grant – Ex-Alliance, decorated soldier, served under Captain Anderson. Deceased._

_Mother – Anita Forest Grant – Librarian. Deceased. _

_Current Location: Earth_

_Profile:_

_Arturus was considered by most to be the next 'legend' of the Alliance fleet. Graduated top honors in his class, excelled in every possible field. Joined the Alliance immediately after graduation, sent on a number of high ranking missions. Quickly, Arturus gained respect and command of a small unit. _

_During one of the missions, Arturus and his unit were stranded on Akuze, attacked by Thresher Maws. Due to the fact that Arturus was the only survivor any account of what happened remained unclear. Arturus left the Alliance after the incident, declared unfit for duty. He never returned. Recently divorced and is on Earth._

ME2SxME2SxME2SxME2S

Josh put aside the profile and rubbed his eyes. He had gotten through the rest of the ex-Normandy crew already and moved on to the next job on the list. Unfortunately, no one from the Normandy crew, except for Joker, was able to offer him any assistance. Wrex was occupied on Tuchanka, Tali rejoined the Migrant Fleet, Kaidan and Liara received new assignments or even a new job, as for Garrus, the turian simply disappeared.

When he thought this project up Josh assumed such things might happen and he already accepted the fact that he would have to recruit again, earn trust from his new crew. For now, his mind was focused on getting the right people for the job, and so far, so good. After that, Josh didn't want to admit this to himself, but he had no idea what happened after.

He put aside the files and walked out of his cabin. The kitchen was silent, L'vina sitting quietly at the table, her legs crossed under her in a chair. The asari's eyes were closed, but Josh could tell she wasn't meditating, for one, there was a half drunken glass of wine in front of her. As he approached the assassin opened one of her eyes, acknowledging her presence.

"I've never been to Earth," the asari repositioned herself in the chair, letting both feet touch the ground. "Most species give their home worlds a lot of praise, even humans. I am excited to see it."

"It's okay," Josh shrugged, reaching into the fridge. "I wouldn't say it was anything special."

"We often tend to not appreciate what we find as mundane," L'vina answered calmly. "You grew up there, it is not something that you could appreciate the way I can. Yet, you get to view it as your home none the less, that is a different kind of value."

"I guess what I meant," Josh emerged from inside the fridge with a everything he needed to make a sandwich as he carried the cheese, meat and lettuce to the counter top, "is that I do love it, yet it has come to symbolize something else for me."

"Regardless," L'vina decided to move on quickly, "I am excited to see it. And, I am excited to see Amanda yet again."

Josh nodded as he began arranging his sandwich. There was something in L'vina's tone that made him slightly more aware however. From what he learned from the assassin's profile and their conversation is that the asari usually stayed calm. When she mentioned Amanda's name, something changed. Her voice trebled and her eyes shifted a bit. The asari did well to hide it, but Josh knew, he spent enough time around all kinds of individuals to be able to read them well.

"What is the plan?" L'vina regrouped mentally.

"We arrive quietly, discretely," Josh replaced everything back in the fridge and picked up his food, "no one needs to know that I'm back. We find Amanda, you deal with her whichever way suits you. After that, we find Arturus, and we disappear to where we came from."

"And where is that exactly," the assassin smiled.

"No one will ever know," Josh returned the smile, biting into his sandwich, enjoying every bite. L'vina clearly knew the value of good food as she took it upon herself to stock the ship before they left Omega. More importantly, she knew how to get the food for a bargain.

"I took a look at his profile," L'vina reached for the wine and brought it back to her lips, "looks interesting. His skills could be an asset, and experience could come in handy as well. I am always surprised however the Alliance treats those who serve it." 

"We do have a tendency to only honor the dead," Josh didn't offer any argument, blocking out his own experiences in the academy, squad dead, everyone who survived didn't make it past that exercise.

"It is something that every nation does," the asari admitted, "honor the live ones too much and then you have to deal with their ego. I need some rest though," asari got up, finishing her wine, "I will be in my chambers."

Josh nodded and allowed L'vina to walk out of the room. As she glided out of the doorway he silently admired her body, and the way the assassin moved, she knew. She wasn't in too much of a hurry, allowing Josh to get a very nice look at her. Josh was getting used to having the asari on board but was also to cautious to get too close. He knew of her, read her profile, she was tactical and calculated, cold, the way he worked to become after Virmire.

"Earth huh?" Joker entered quietly and reached into the fridge himself. The pilot walked around a lot more than Josh saw him on the Normandy. Perhaps it was because the ship was so small, and the rest of the crew was non-existent.

"Just some business to take care of," Josh admitted, "we need a few more people."

"I know you've got a plan," Joker sat down at the table, a bottle of beer in his hand, "but next time I would like an advance warning before you want to turn our ship into psychos'r'us."

"Really?" Josh judged the way Joker delivered that joke.

"No?" the pilot smiled, "not even a compassionate chuckle? No, there there you'll come up with something? Tough crowd."

"How's the ship?" Josh asked, switching the topic. If he let Joker get going this conversation could go on for ages.

"She's doing fine," Joker shrugged, "not the Normandy, but quite impressive on her own. The stealth capabilities seem stellar, but we haven't had a chance to test them yet. Weapons are alright, I guess, for something this size you don't need much. I'll tell you what though, I'd love to push this baby to max speed."

"Is it fast?"

"I am not sure how fast," Joker admitted. "It seems to have all it needs to break the speeds I reached with the Normandy. Whoever gave you this wants you to be quite fast with the response."

"Let's hope we never have to experience the max speed though," Josh admitted, thinking that there shouldn't be a time in the future when they would need a speedy getaway.

"I suppose," Joker got up from the table, taking the beer with him. "Well, I'm back to where I belong. I'm telling you, every time I stand up it feels like my knees are a mismatched jigsaw."

"Quite an image," Josh smirked.

"I need a better metaphor," Joker admitted as he walked towards the pilot's area. "I'll announce it when we're nearing Earth."

Josh nodded as he remained alone in the kitchen. There was time to think about what to do on Earth. Clearly, he had to deliver Amanda to L'vina to maintain the assassin's trust, but after that, they needed to find Arturus. It would probably be a good idea to scout the archives right now, finding where the man lived to save some time. From there, it was anyone's guess.

ME2SxME2SxME2SxME2S

Josh was sitting at a coffee house, enjoying his espresso. The Starbucks empire really took off after space exploration was introduced. Even before, the coffee empire was expanding beyond coffee, into books, publishing, advertising, even production. Now it had interest in space travel, weapons, foods, everything. They increased the pace and scope of their expansion and applied it to every single industry.

He was looking around, trying to find L'vina, but knew that was pointless. The asari has already proven that she was a master at disappearing and staying out of view. He didn't need her for now either, hopefully everything would go as planned until Amanda arrived.

He had made full use of Miranda's information and baited Amanda. She ran her own business and was successful at it. Like most people of that character she could only be interested in business offers. Josh used every single skill he learned from observing his sister to set up a proper meeting, luring Amanda with an attractive 'merger' proposition.

Josh recognized Amanda immediately when she showed up. The woman was in her late 50s, dressed in casual business attire. She carried herself with a lot of confidence, with straight posture and smooth movement style. As she walked to the table she appeared to size everything up, from the hostess to the people around her. While her face remained static, Josh could see judgment in Amanda's eyes.

She sat down at the table, folding her arms in front of her. With one stare Amanda sized up the man in front of her, raising one eyebrow and offering Josh a chance to start speaking first. He was the one to call her, she assumed he had something to offer, and now she was waiting.

"Good afternoon," Josh nodded, "I am glad you decided to show up."

"Well," Amanda studied the menu, "when someone offers a deal of your impact, it would be stupid to ignore the offer."

"Thank you," Josh nodded, "I hope you do not mind that another one of my associates joins us in a few moments? She was instrumental in making this deal work and she wanted the chance to see it through to the end."

"No problem at all," Amanda agreed. "I have to say, I am slightly surprised that you have come up with such an offer. It seems almost too good to be true. Let's hope that it is?"

Amanda smiled again as she keyed in her choices into the menu. She then leaned back into her chair and made herself more comfortable, stretching her legs out.

"If you do not mind me asking," Amanda went on, "since I already know who you are… Who precisely is your associate? Perhaps I have met her in some of my previous engagements."

"I believe you have," Josh smiled slightly, leaning forward. "In fact, it was L'vina who first proposed this deal to our company, and it was too good to say no to."

"Excuse me," Amanda leaned forward, visibly shaken by what Josh just said, "did you just said her name was L'vina?"

Josh didn't say anything but he simply leaned back. A small smirk found its way onto his face as he stared back at Amanda and nodded. That confirmation seemed to take the business woman aback, rattling her composure. She no longer acted like she owned the terrace, but rather cowered in her seat, constricting her movements and looks.

"She…" Amanda's voice trembled for a second before she calmed herself down, "she… She has finally found me?"

"Yes I have," L'vina pulled up a chair, appearing once again seemingly out of nowhere. "How are you Amanda? I hope I am not interrupting on anything important?"

"How?"

"I have my ways," L'vina chose not to reveal too much. "Aren't you surprised to see me?... _Friend_?"

"No," Amanda lowered her eyes into the table, "I'm not L'vina. Ever since I found out you survived I knew this day would come. I still cannot sleep calmly at night, every whisper, every breeze, it's as if you're there. I am not afraid of not waking up, I am afraid of waking up to your face, chasing me straight out of my nightmares."

"How poetic," the asari didn't appear too touched, "allow me if I do not appreciate the rhetoric. You know… I imagined this moment for many years, dreamed of it, pictured it in my mind, and all times you ended up dead by my hand, begging to let you explain."

"There is nothing to explain," Amanda shook her head, "they said it was either you or me, and I chose me. I thought they would kill you and guilt would eat away at me every day. Instead, I got fear coupled into the package, a dangerous combination to lose sleep over. So… How am I going to go?"

Both women allowed their gazes to meet, both focused looking straight into each other's eyes. There was no fear or any other emotion in neither of their eyes. They didn't move, but simply stared.

"I am going to give you something you never gave me," L'vina was the first one to speak, "a choice. I want you dead for what you did, but I also want you to know how I felt when they surrounded me, when they set up that trap. I want you to know how it feels to feel your life drip away bit by bit, having to reach deep to draw every bit of biotic energy you have. I want you to feel how it is to draw on the life force of your unborn daughter to survive, to exchange her life for hers instead of losing both. I want you to feel _our _daughter fighting for her life inside of me as I reached to her to sweep past the last of the soldiers. After that, how you're going to go is entirely up to you."

Josh knew it was his time to leave. He got up, leaving a few credits on the table and walked off. He quickly speeded towards a small bench across the café and sat down there. He could see L'vina take Amanda's hands into her own and close her eyes. Both women shook, a small glow emanating from both. When it was all over, L'vina got up and was about to walk away. Amanda buckled to her knees, falling off her table.

As L'vina walked away Josh could see Amanda trying to grasp at the asari's legs. The assassin brushed it off, walking away and leaving the woman to her misery. Amanda gathered up a few seconds later, sitting back up at the table. Josh could see her face, and it was simply blank. He was too far to look into the woman's eyes, but he tried to imagine what he would see there. Despair, terror, sorrow, everything in one deadly mixture of emotions.

L'vina approached him and sat down on the same bench. They looked at Amanda for a few more seconds as the human sat at the table, head buried in her own palms. Josh could see that there was nothing left of the confident and self-assured woman that walked into the café minutes ago, that was all gone, the façade crumbled under the powerful mental imagery. If all that L'vina described was true, he didn't want to be Amanda right now, the only sane thought in her head probably involved a gun or a rooftop.

ME2SxME2SxME2SxME2S

Josh never liked going to old neighborhoods back on Earth. There were plenty of reasons for him to hate the experience, but mostly it was because they never bothered to renovate these parts. While the majority of cities got an uplifting as space travel was discovered, certain areas were deemed unfit and they never made it to the chopping block. Now, anyone who lived there hoped for one thing, a way out, and those who left, never came back.

Him and L'vina must have looked serious enough for everyone to avoid them as the two walked down the corridors. Josh knew that behind every door there was some sort of illegal activity and if the cops just bust down the door they could meet their arrest quota for the month in one raid. Unfortunately, no one cared. Everyone, from the city council to the police thought it was best for these districts to regulate themselves. There was no point in arresting everyone if the people would just shoot each other anyways.

As they reached Arturus' apartment they slowed down, muffled voices were coming from inside. The door was slightly open as Josh pressed his back against the wall while L'vina rotated to the other end, her movements smooth and silent. There were two men standing with their backs to the door, one of them holding an old baseball bat, the other had a gun. Arturus, as Josh could tell from the profile photo, was sitting in the chair, facing both men. He looked tired of all the talk, staring at the ground mostly.

"Do you know what a baseball bat does to a knee?" the one holding the bat asked. "I'm pretty sure its not that good. This is how our forefathers used to handle business you know."

"Look," Arturus rubbed his temples, "I've already told you a couple of times, I need a few more days."

"Until what?" the second thug asked. "Until your wife takes more of your money? Or until the casino takes away your house and your close? You do this every month Arturus, the boss wants you to be more punctual."

"So tell him…"

"No," the man with the bat interrupted, pressing it into Arturus' chest, "here is what we're going to tell him. We're going to tell him that you will pay, tomorrow by seven, or show up at our door and agree to do some jobs for us, nothing serious. Otherwise, we will go to your ex-wife's house and she'll find out what a bat does to a bone first hand."

Arturus didn't say anything, although he did lift his eyes from the floor up to the two men. Josh knew he had to move fast before the thugs turned around. There was no use for biotics as Arturus was in the way, and also, a biotic in the slims would attract too much attention. He already took a risk bringing L'vina down, even though she did try to conceal her origin.

Suddenly, Josh slipped through the opening and rushed forward. He placed his left hand across his body onto one of the thug's right shoulder. Josh then swung the man around by the shoulder, turning him and throwing him of balance. With his free hand, he gripped a knife as he brought it up and behind where he was griping the thug before thrusting backwards, plunging the knife directly into the man's neck.

The second thug couldn't react in time either, turning just to see his own hand snap backwards as L'vina grabbed his wrist and pulled it up, twisting the shoulder out of a socket. She lowered her knee into the back of the man's leg, bringing him down to the floor. The man looked up at the asari, his eyes full of fear, begging her to stop. The assassin didn't listen as she brought her leg up and caught the man's neck in behind her knee. Suddenly, she did a gracious flip over the man's body, twisting his neck as she went, landing right behind Arturus.

"Great," the retired marine spoke, slightly shook up. "Now they'll come back with more men and trash this place, or go after Nancy."

"Is that how they say thank you in these parts?" Josh asked pulling out a pack of cigarettes from one of the thug's chest pockets. He pulled out one and lit it in his mouth, taking a deep drag before dropping the pack back onto a dead body. "Disgusting habit," he muttered to the dead.

"Arturus Grant?" L'vina got straight to business.

"Yeah," Arturus nodded, before adding, "and what?"

"We have an offer for you," Josh continued where the asari left off, he quite liked having her with him. "You can stay here, owe to whoever it is you owe to, or come with us and make some money for a change. It's not going to be easy, but after studying your profile I think you'll do."

"Thanks for the confidence vote," Arturus smirked, reaching for the cigarettes himself, "but I'm done with the Alliance."

"Do we look like Alliance?" L'vina finally ripped off the hood she was wearing, revealing the blue skin of an asari.

"No, I guess you don't," Arturus said as he lit a cigarette. "You're forgetting one tiny little detail. Even if I leave, they will get to Nancy, they've done it before. Even though she left me she's still my wife, or used to be. Besides, I will not have her well being on her conscience."

"I figure we could help you with that," Josh felt like this was more of a question than a statement as he looked up at the asari. L'vina nodded in approval, saying this would be something she could get on board with.

"How?" Arturus asked. "There are only two of you."

"Well," Josh shrugged, taking more smoke into his lungs, "there are three if you say yes. Also, we're quite good at what we do believe it or not."

"Okay," Arturus nodded, "I suppose you might be right. What do I get in return?"

"Some of your dignity for a change," L'vina commented disrespectfully as she studied a whiskey bottle, "and most likely some credits."

"I'll have you leave my dignity alone," Arturus snapped temporarily, "Alliance shitted all over it long ago, I won't have it smeared any more…" He paused, looking up at Josh again. In his gaze, the man was breaking. It was clear that Arturus was still a soldier, and a good one at that, he didn't want to end his career on Akuze, the way the Alliance made him. "Okay," he nodded, "I guess I have nothing to lose anyways, just tell me how you plan to do this."

ME2SxME2SxME2SxME2S

Even though the criminals that ran the slums talked big, they lived in same neighborhoods, on the same side of the poverty line as everyone else they were terrorizing. Sure they had a better life, but it wasn't too distant from everyone's reality. As all three approached the compound Josh felt as if they were in for an epic battle but hoped it wasn't so. He could feel his heart racing in anticipation of more action ahead, it helped him forget, escape his thoughts about everything else, about Tanya, about Ashley.

"It's just up ahead," Arturus turned to both of them, signaling that it was time.

L'vina disappeared almost instantly, dipping into the nearest shadow. Sometimes Josh forgot that the asari was present as she was that good at becoming invisible. He himself hugged the wall as close as he could, hoping the shadows would be enough to conceal him. Arturus remained the only one in view. He continued his confident walk directly to the front door.

From the outside this looked like any other old house, secluded, with its own small area in the front. It wasn't too big, so Josh hoped security wouldn't be pouring out of everyone. Hopefully this would be a clean job, with no one getting hurt or injured. Two guards were at the front door.

"Stop right there," one of them raised an assault rifle to Arturus, pressing it against the ex-marine's chest. "What the fuck are you doing here Arturus, didn't Johnny and Ed get to you last night?"

"They did," Arturus answered. "They also said that I could do some jobs for the boss to cover this month's debt, and to come by today, so here I am – coming by."

The two guards looked at each other and both shrugged. Obviously they wouldn't be informed of this since Ed and Johnny were both dead, hidden in the sewage system Arturus' building. After a few seconds of deliberation the guard who spoke nodded and went to the door. He knocked twice, and then mumbled something that Josh couldn't make out. The door opened, revealing one more guard.

Just as the opening was wide enough, a throwing knife came through it, planting directly into the furthest guy's forehead. As the two doormen scrambled, they met the same fate, one to the chest and one between the eyes. When Josh and L'vina made it out of the shadows Arturus was already inside. He had the fourth guard on the floor, his neck snapped.

Josh pulled out a silenced pistol as the other two did the same. Luckily, Miranda did leave some weapons on the ship before passing it on to Joker. Josh made a reminder at this point to thank the woman for her thoughtfulness in the future.

"Spread out," L'vina said as she disappeared into the side corridor before Josh could object anything. Clearly the asari preferred to work in the shadows on her own, but they were a team now and would have to work together at some point.

"Cover my back," Arturus said as he started making it down the hallway.

The two guards that appeared at the end got a quick double burst to the head, splattering both their brains against the far wall. A few shotgun bursts came from the distance, signs of the assassin at work. Three more guards raced across the far corridor as Josh and Arturus remained quiet against the wall. When they reached the end the turned the opposite way of where the guards went and followed down the hallway.

One more guard appeared at the end, but he never turned his head to see the bullet coming as he slumped to the floor. Josh felt adrenaline rush to his head as he hugged the wall to make it towards the end. Another turn and he was in a wide open room, it looked like a server or storage room. Full of various computer pads as well as lockers. This is probably where whoever ran this organization kept their money and other items.

"This could be good," L'vina slid in through the door behind him. She quickly opened up one of the terminals and started typing. Numbers and names flashed on screen followed by more numbers. "This is their banking records, every credit that this place owns can be transferred through here, we just need a password."

"I guess whoever is in charge would have it," Josh assumed, thinking it was a good idea to get some money for the missions ahead. The way this money has been earned, he had no seconds thoughts about taking it.

"We should find him," L'vina shut down the terminal.

"And hope Arturus, doesn't kill him," Josh added and turned to go out of the door.

They followed the gunshots in the distance. After back tracking through a few bodies they went into a different corridor, a few more corpses lying there as well. In the distance they could hear rapid gunshots. Josh turned another corner and saw the backs of three more guards, most likely attempting to flank Arturus.

He acted quickly, gun up within a split second and two rounds dropping the last two guards. The third one was shot by L'vina, close on Josh's toes, hugging the opposite wall. Josh turned and nodded to her as a 'thank you,' noting that the assassin had activated the barrier biotic power. There was a blue glow around her body, a small protective shell.

As they turned the corner around the which the guards were creeping Josh and L'vina ran into Arturus, his back against the wall on the side of a door into a bigger hallway. The man was reloading at the moment, a bit of blood running down his forehead.

"About time you guys caught up," the ex-Alliance soldier looked up as he slid another thermal clip into his pistol.

"Wouldn't let you have all the fun for yourself," as much as Josh try he couldn't make himself sound light hearted. With a quick peek over the wall into the next hallway he counted roughly ten guards, the other door led deeper into the compound. That was probably where the men who knew the pilot was.

"Twelve men," L'vina said, pressing her back to the wall right beside Josh. "All heavily armed, a lot of cover, not too scattered though."

"Grenade plus some biotic attack?" Josh suggested, feeling a small tingle in his stomach, he didn't use his biotics in way too long. Also, he was thrown off by how fast the asari could count the number of enemies while he himself got it wrong at the first glance, his reaction failed him that time.

"We'll see," L'vina smirked and just like that she was gone into a vent right above her. Josh looked at Arturus, but the other man didn't acknowledge him at all, leaning out from cover to shoot.

Within seconds, the firing stopped. Josh waited for a second for the silence to set in and then immediately be interrupted by the an explosion and a scream, this was their cue. Josh moved first, pulling out a barrier over himself and rushing into the room. He immediately saw the next cover point and ducked behind one of the chairs. Some of the guards were already on the ground, still confused by what was going on. Josh leaned over the cover and fired, hitting one more guard.

From the side of his eye, he saw Arturus move into cover on the other side of the room. The veteran was more than skilled tactically to judge the situation as he was taking down another two guards. Only then did Josh notice L'vina again. The asari came down from the vent, snapping one of the guards necks. Before the other man could react, the assassin kicked the guard's gun out of his hand and put her palm on the man's chest. Immediately the man's body exploded backwards into a wall, blood spewing out of his mouth as he slumped to the floor.

As L'vina went on to maneuver between the enemies Josh moved from cover to cover, using the asari as a distraction. He quickly snuck behind another guard, snapping the man's neck and letting the body fall down. He then fired the gun again, taking out another two guards, and searching for more targets. Everyone who posed a threat in the room was dead.

"I'm impressed," Arturus spoke in his gruff manner, "efficient to say the least."

L'vina didn't say anything, simply kneeling over one of the bodies, placing her palm on the corpse's forehead. Her mouth moved as she mumbled something and her arm was engulfed in blue glow. Josh watched carefully, trying to hear what the asari was whispering. Arturus disregarded her and instead walked up to the closed door.

"Williamson!" Arturus raised his voice talking through the door, "John Williamson. I've come as you said, I'm here to settle my debt."

"Fuck you," came a muffled scream through the door.

"That's not nice," Arturus replied, "I'm with company here. I'd like you to apologize."

"I'll kill you," the man behind the door refused to realize he was as good as dead, "you don't realize what you've done. You and that bitch of an ex-wife of yours."

"I think I told you to watch your mouth," it was evident that Arturus was about to lose it.

"We need him alive," L'vina said calmly, "at least for a minute."

"I don't promise anything," Arturus said honestly.

"Very well," L'vina whispered as her hand was already on Arturus' shoulder, activating stasis.

The asari very well moved to the control panel of the door, fiddling with it. Josh found himself pressing up against one of the sides of the door, his gun ready. He knew the man wasn't alone in there, he also knew that this wasn't going to be easy. With Arturus out of action for a few, it was up to him and L'vina, although given the assassin's previous display Josh had no reason to doubt her.

"You didn't need to do that," he felt that he needed to at least acknowledge what the asari did to the man who was supposed to become part of the squad.

"We have no time to argue with him," L'vina stated, "he'll understand."

"Let's hope he does," Josh admitted.

As he finished the sentence the door opened. Even before it was fully open gunshots were fired from the other side. As Josh guessed, John was not alone, he had three guards with him, all armed and firing away through the doorway.

"Good plan," Josh grunted through his teeth, waiting for the enemy to provide any kind of opening.

L'vina didn't respond, but acted instead. She quickly ducked into the doorway, sliding down on her knees into the next cover. Josh chose this as a point to switch covers. As he came through the door, his gun was up, firing away to provide some sort of cover for himself. Out of his periphery, Josh caught L'vina standing straight up, with a blue glow around her as if she was about to activate a biotic power. Within a second, L'vina's body rushed forward creating a blue ripple in the air behind her.

The guards seemed to be just as surprised as Josh when the asari assassin slammed into them, grabbing each by the throat and forcing their bodies into the wall. The crunching noise of a snapping neck echoed through the room. When the two guard dropped lifeless to the floor L'vina turned to the last man, quite obviously the one in charge. The man was on the floor, gun out of his grasp, crawling back against his desk.

"Who the fuck are you?" he felt as if it was necessary to put up a pretence of power.

"Don't you worry about that," L'vina placed her hand on his forehead.

"You'll regret this," the man spewed insults, "you will!"

L'vina didn't say anything. Josh recognized what was going on. Suddenly, all the memories of his training came back, everything he experienced even before his official Alliance mission. The asari that killed most of his squad and left him for dead, or insane. He knew exactly what was to happen and it took every bit of his resolve not to turn away.

He saw the expression of John Williamson turn from anger to fear, then to agony. The man didn't make a noise during the whole ordeal, his eyes simply emptied. His body slumped and drool rolled down his mouth. The shaking body fell fully to the floor as John wrapped his hands around his arms, shaking violently. L'vina got up and looked at Josh.

"I've got everything we need," she said to Josh, "we can go."

Josh didn't say a word. He walked up to John's defeated body and stood over it, staring at the shell of a man. He knew that there was no getting out of this. Josh pulled the trigger, granting Williamson the sweet release of death, he was sure the mobster would prefer death to what L'vina thrust his conscience into. After that, Josh holstered his gun and went towards the door.

"What the hell was that?" Arturus stood dumb folded in the doorway.

"Nothing," Josh answered, knowing L'vina wouldn't say. He was sure that the assassin also thought that no one was aware of this particular technique.

"If you say so," Arturus couldn't stop staring at the body. As L'vina walked buy however, the veteran grabbed her hand. "Never, ever do that again. Do you understand me?"

"Are you sure you want to go there?" L'vina met the man's gaze.

Arturus didn't say anything, but simply pressed his gun deeper into the asari's ribs.

"Are you quick enough human?"

"ENOUGH!" Josh stepped in, finally assuming some responsibility. "We're done here. Any issues, we can work them out on the ship. Let's go."

L'vina broke her hand from Arturus' grip and was the first one to walk into the hallway, the veteran followed. Josh paused for a second in the last doorway, looking back. Studying the dead bodies Josh couldn't help but think whether all of this was worth it or necessary. His last gaze fell directly onto John Williamson's body. He shook his head and followed his squad. There were fences to be mended and there was work to do before they would function as a proper team.


	4. Chapter 3: Unlikely Ranger

**I do not own any of the Mass Effect Universe, or any of the ME original characters. All of those are property of BioWare…**

**Now, keep in mind I haven't played the ME1 DLC so I might cock up the continuity of some events that happened in Bring Down the Sky, although I do not plan to mention it more than in passing.**

**Also, sorry for the delay, definitely took me a while to get this up but I was pretty occupied. Also, it's a dialogue centered chapter, a bit shorter, mostly wanted to take a step away from the action. **

**Finally, took me a whiole to do this, two jobs and so on. Now, also didn't have time to edit it as much as I would want to. Anyone would want to be a betareader on this, shoot me a quick message.**

Chapter 3

**The Unlikely Ranger**

_Name: Iiri _

_Age: Unknown_

_Parents:_

_Biological Parents unknown_

_Adoptive father: James S. Turn – Deceased_

_Profile:_

_Iiri has grown up on a number of colonies as her adoptive father was a traveling contractor fulfilling various jobs for the Alliance. Iiri has been abandoned by the flotilla and left behind. James has claimed numerous times to have found her with cracks in her suit as well as nearly all survival chances down to zero. However, he nursed the Quarian back to life and raised her as his own. _

_A few years prior, James died in the Geth assault on Eden Prime, leaving Iiri virtually alone. Since then she has travelled, struggling to survive, planet to planet. She has become an expert in technology akin to many other representatives of her species, however, Iiri has also adopted quite well to various living conditions, possessing numerous key survival skills._

_Last Known Location: Terra Nova_

Josh spent the first two hours of the trip staring aimlessly at the dossier. This was the last trip that they were going to make at the moment. He knew that this particular mission was going to be somewhat different. In L'vina and Arturus' cases it was much easier. They were both on worlds where their species wasn't a novelty. Iiri was hiding out on a human colony, where humans did not appreciate outsiders. Judging from the dossier, she wouldn't have any problem hiding out, making finding the quarian so much more difficult.

The communicator snapped Josh out of his mind. He reached for the 'answer' button, missing on his first attempt. The second try brought the person on the other end into his room.

"How's the progress," Miranda's voice sounded detached. Even though Josh couldn't hear her he felt as if the woman was not fully present with the conversation.

"It's moving," Josh was honest, putting the dossier aside, "it's an interesting bunch."

"I have no doubt," Miranda sounded tired, "that's not why I called though."

"Never suspected any different," Josh smiled, realizing after that Miranda couldn't exactly see him. "What is it?"

"There is something I need you to procure for me," Miranda said.

"Is that your way of saying steal?" Josh leaned back, easing himself into the conversation.

"Call it what you want," Miranda answered right back, almost as if she anticipated the answer. "I invested into your little 'group,' so it's only common courtesy to return the favor here."

"What is it?" Josh tried to skip right to the chase.

"I like the aggressive attitude," Miranda mused over the communicator. "I am not exactly sure what it is. There is a brand new research corporation set up by the asari of world. They've been recruiting the best and the brightest over the past year, and recently there has been some kind of break through."

"You don't even know what it is and you want it?" Josh smirked, "I thought I was greedy."

"I know what the research was centered around," Miranda went on, "that's a little bit you don't need to know… For now. In any case, my contact has recently informed me of the breakthrough, but I lost connection shortly after. I have other sources in there, but none of them close enough to tell me more."

"So that's where we come in?" Josh assumed the end of the sentence.

"Definitely," Miranda approved, "I'll send you all the details later. Good bye."

Josh was going to say something else, but the connection dropped before he even opened his mouth. He felt as if Miranda stumbled through the conversation with him, rather than simply giving him all of the attention. He rubbed his temples, and walked out of his room towards the common area.

Arturus was sitting at the table, cleaning his pistol. The switch from regular ammunition to thermal clips has not gone by unnoticed. After the Geth attacked the incident a number of weapons malfunctioned on C-Sec, revealing that perhaps using the well established technology was not necessarily a good thing. This meant that people once again had to worry about ammunition in exchange for more stable, reliable, and most importantly – powerful, weapons.

L'vina was sitting on one of the cabinets, slowly enjoying a quick snack. It was weird for Josh to see the asari in such a relaxed and casual position. He knew she was a stone cold killer, but here, she reminded him of the new entrant into the academy. It was as if she belonged to one of the cliques female officers formed to make their time pass faster.

"You rely on your weapons too much," L'vina was trying to argue with Arturus as Josh walked in. "You have this weird dependency, it's as if you can't survive without them. It's what makes you weak, or weaker than most. Once you lose this technological appendage, I give you no more than five minutes."

"Yet sometimes we need to use them," Josh spoke as he leaned against the fridge after taking out a beer. "I've seen you fire a gun."

"Out of necessity," L'vina admitted, "not because there was no other way. Sometimes its strategically important to use a weapon."

"Whatever," Arturus forced the temporary smile off his face, "you do things your way, and I do them mine."

"And that's what makes us such a team," Josh smiled.

"We'll see," L'vina smiled. "So where are we headed now?"

"Terra Nova."

"Shiiiiit," Arturus leaned back into his chair, snapping the thermal clip back into his gun. "No luck for you," he looked at L'vina, "after the Batarian incident they've completely barricaded themselves away from the alien world. They hate visitors."

"Helps us that my specialty is stealth then, doesn't it?" L'vina smirked.

"Sure does," Arturus smiled, before turning to Josh, "so what are we looking for? Or whom?"

"A quarian," Josh threw the dossier on the table, inviting the two to familiarize themselves with it, L'vina was the first to grab it. "I don't know where she's got there, but if there has been no word, its safe to assume she's still there."

"So what do we do?" Arturus reached for his own beer.

"Me and you," Josh looked back at the ex-Marine, "we scout the ground, talk to anyone who may have some information. L'vina," he turned to the asari, "you'll operate behind the scenes, see what you kind find out in an unofficial manner. If Terra Nova is as closed out as everyone says, we may not get any answers from a straight up investigation."

The asari nodded, hanging the dossier to Arturus. There seemed to be some sort of connection between the two already. Josh hoped that he wasn't simply seeing things, since he needed them to get along.

"What do you get out of this anyways?" Arturus broke the momentary silence. Josh looked at the man and then back at the asari. He felt as if they rehearsed this conversation with him already, he felt trapped.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Josh tried to play it off.

"I would," Arturus nodded, "actually. I read your file, Alliance marine, accomplished during the Blitz, then you just disappeared, went off the grid. Until Shepard took you in again. You travelled with the first human Spectre and then the Alliance tried to fake your death, yet here you are. So… What do you gain from organizing this little band? I'm sure with a record like yours Alliance would be more than happy to take you in."

"I'm sure they would," Josh was talking to Arturus, but was studying L'vina very carefully as well. He knew the asari had as much to do with this questioning as the human did. Josh was quite surprised how fast the two came together.

"The only thing I ever knew how to do was to fire a gun and throw people around with my mind like a rag doll," Josh decided to be honest, he needed the trust of his new squad and that meant he had to trust them as well, even if he was quite uncomfortable with it. "Shepard gave me a purpose, put me to use. Now that she's gone, I need to find my own purpose. Forget the Alliance, I've seen the way they work, and that is not the way I work."

"We'll see," Arturus pulled out a smoke and began to light it.

Josh studied the two and decided it was time to end the little party they had going on. He got up slowly and turned to head towards the pilot's cabin. He felt both his companions studying him as he walked away. The rest of the flight he would have to figure out how deep the curiosity went for both Arturus and L'vina. All that was left was to determine whether or not their little alliance was temporary or if it was a sign of better things to come. After all, nothing brought people together like having their backs to the wall, and both of them were in the same position.

"So I was thinking," Joker started speaking before Josh even entered the cabin it seemed. "We find an abandoned warehouse, lock away the key, and drop all of us in there with knives and machetes hidden all over the place, kill all the lights… You know, what else can we do with this group…"

"Such an optimist," Josh stood behind Joker's chair, studying the star map and the progress.  
"Don't like some of the crew?"

"The meticulous asari killer and an ex-marine degenerate gambler with a history of violence," Joker shrugged, "not exactly a step up with a silent turian with the essence of a serial killer and a trigger happy krogan mercenary. You and Shepard have the same habit off attracting the best personnel you can find."

"I guess we bring it out in people," Josh went along.

"I suppose," Joker switched the subject almost immediately, "I was going to tell you something else. While we were on Earth I dropped this baby by a star port a friend of mine owns. I modified some weapons, added a few things. We might be small, but we pack a punch now."

"Terra Nova star port," came a crackle through the communicator, "you are on approach, please state your business."

"Stand by for captain," Joker pressed the hold button and smiled to Josh.

"Terra Nova star port?" Josh lifted Joker's finger off hold, "we are a small vessel, asking for permission to land."

"State your business on Terra Nova?"

"Un-official business inquiry meeting," Josh thought quickly on the fly. "we are a small vessel, don't need much space."

"We can see that," the voice on the other end paused for a few seconds. "What's your crew?"

"Three humans," Josh answered almost immediately, he was prepared for the question.

"Small indeed," the voice agreed, "stand by."

"She seems nice," Joker filled the silence. The pilot often struggled to survive at a time where everything went silent, it was as if he was uncomfortable and out of his element.

"Permission to land granted," the voice came back in about a minute, "you have a limit to dock for 3 days, gate 4."

"Beginning approach," Joker took over the communications and grasped the controls.

Josh watched the pilot carefully, moving with such precision. This is where Joker often proved his worth. The pilot was the best at what he did, and it showed. The ship responded to every single movement, yet it did so smoothly, and Josh didn't even feel like the ship was flying at all. Josh observed the approach for another minute before heading back. It was time to round up the squad, and give L'vina her directions.

MExMExMExMExME

The doors opened and Josh passed through the decontamination chamber, Arturus at his back. Both men weren't armed for a lot of combat, but they kept their pistols on them. Even thought Terra Nova was mainly a safe colony, one never knew what might happen. As soon as they stepped onto the boarding platform, a squad of three was already headed towards them. A redhead led them, gripping an assault rifle in her clutches, the two men following her held assault rifles.

"Welcoming committee, so it seems," Arturus still had time to whisper into Josh's ear.

"Gentlemen," the woman spoke as soon as she was level with the two, "welcome to Terra Nova. And if you don't mind me saying, I love the new business practices… You know, the ones that require guns."

"Can never be too careful," Josh smiled, trying not to see to friendly however, "especially giving the colony's track record."

"Understandable," the woman stayed professional, but Josh could see she wasn't too pleased with the comment. He hurt her pride. She obviously held a high position on Terra Nova, and probably had been reprimanded after Terra Nova. "If you need anything, we have security offices in every district, or just ask one of my men patrolling the station. We've increased the garrison after the incident."

"I will," Josh assured her.

At that, their exchange was over. Josh could clearly see that the woman considered greeting visitors below her, but was probably forced to do so by someone else. As she walked away he exchanged a quick look with Arturus.

"I'm guessing that's about as good a welcome we would find here," Arturus said as they walked out of the port.

"Can you blame them?"

"I really can't," Arturus agreed, "but that's the problem. They're behaving exactly the way everyone else would expect them too. We're just upholding what the Council believes we are."

"We are on the council now," Josh cared to point out.

"Really?" Arturus smiled, pulling out a cigarette, and offering one to Josh, "the way fuck all's changed could have fooled me. Where are we headed to anyways?"

"Local bar," Josh suggested, "no easier person to pump for information than a bartender."

"Or a drunk."

"Even better," Josh smiled as they headed down the street. He was hoping that L'vina had success in leaving the star port, and was also on the move. He kept a communicator in his pocket. He would feel the vibration and would turn on the inner ear implant.

The bar was in the further corner of the street, tucked away between two merchants. It didn't look inviting from the outside, almost abandoned. The only way Josh figured it was open was the two people past out in a puddle right in front of the entrance. He took care to step over one of them on his way in.

The inside of the establishment was a whole different story. The music wasn't awfully loud, at least not enough to drown out the conversations. The lighting was dim, inviting for people to come in and sit down, easy on the eyes. There weren't too many people here yet. It was still early and most were probably at work. Josh assumed that most people here were security guards off duty, or those fortunate enough to get a day off.

Josh looked around, trying to figure out who to talk to. The bartender fell out of the question. She was a pretty girl of maybe 20-23. She would be perfect for afternoon gossip, anything of little value that would go on in the colony, but she probably wouldn't have much useful information. Josh tried to look into details, see what other people were in here. It took him a while to spot his target. It was a gruff man, roughly fifty, sitting alone at the bar, holding on to a glass of whiskey on ice.

There wasn't much to give away the ex-soldier, except for his watch dial being on the inside of his left wrist. Normal people usually wore the accessory over the hand to look at the clock, marines however were in a habit to reverse the dial. A lot of people often were confused as to why, but it helped them see the watch when holding a weapon, and considering that most army watches were multipurpose with a compass on them it was a good idea to always see it.

"Whiskey," Arturus said pulling up a chair, stretching his hand to the waitress.

"You know how to make a battlemaster?" Josh looked at the waitress. She looked back at him before looking at a screen below the bar, it had all of the recepies written out. "Yeah," she said, not sounding to confident, "we have all the ingredients to make it… Never made it before but once… A couple month back for a krogan that came by with Commander Shepard."

"Figures," Josh smiled to himself, noting how Wrex still made a point of visiting here. "And a whiskey for the gentleman here."

"Sure thing," the bartender smiled to Josh and got to mixing the cocktail.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" the man said in his baritone, "a man rarely buys another a drink here without a motive."

"No motive," Josh leaned back, accepting the drinks, the waitress was really quick. "Just wanted to ask you a few questions."

"Told you," the man nodded as he accepted the whiskey. "Your friend got good taste in drinks, but you're drinking… what was that again?"

"A krogan drink," Josh answered, mimicking disgust as he took down the drink. It hit him in the head fast, almost knocking off the chair. The sensation was always the same, a rush to the brain while the rest of the drink was twisting on his insides. "Picked it up while I was on Omega."

"Looks like you really love it," the man smiled taking a quick sip of the whiskey. "Well then, make with the questions, let's not insult each other with empty pleasantries."

"Smart man," Arturus raised his glass in a gesture towards the man as both took another drink.

"Just been around long enough to figure out how things work," the man nodded, turning to Josh.

"Fair enough," Josh agreed. "I just really have one question. I'm looking for someone here, and to be quite honest I don't know where to begin."

"I suppose everyone is looking for someone," the man agreed. "I assumed that you're not here just on business… There is a directory for this kind of thing."

"There is," Josh agreed, "but it usually applies to people who want to be found or who are here legally. The person I am looking for is probably staying under the radar. You work for security, and I know the watch for aliens has been tighter around here. Were there any reports of the quarian being around here? Somewhere off the colony, in the woods perhaps?"

"A quarian?" the man seemed to enjoy the question, pointing to his glass, signifying he wanted another. "Now that's an interesting request. Terra Nova hasn't been too open to aliens, I suppose you heard that… As a security officer on Terra Nova, if I saw an alien presence that was unregistered, I would be obligated to report it to the authorities…" he paused, stretching his drink for a while, keeping the mystery in the air. "In your case, I would also recommend you to talk to Talbot, he runs an exploration company out of the heart of Terra Nova, working on populating more of the planet. He knows everything that goes on."

"Where exactly can we find him?" Josh pressed on.

"Walk out of here, turn left," the man said, "you can't miss it. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get one more drink… on you, of course."

"Of course," Josh nodded, keying in a few things through his omni tool, transferring the credits to the bar. He then signaled to Arturus who dried the rest of his whiskey and both walked out of the bar.

"That went well," Arthurus sounded more sarcastic than anything.

"Why do I feel like they're just going to send us from person to person?" Josh asked, more himself than Arturus, but out loud nevertheless.

"Because they will," Arturus lit up another smoke. "Face it, tight communities stick up for one another, especially after accidents such as the X57. We're lucky Shepard had the presence of mind to save the colonists on that wretched asteroid. Otherwise no one would even talk to us. You think the asari came up with anything?"

"We'll find out after we see Talbot," Josh nodded although he doubted that the assassin had any success yet. She would message him according to the plan, that is if she worked according to the plan.

The security guard was right, the building was hard to miss. There was a crowd of people right outside, most of them engaged in some sort of conversation, but all were waiting on something. Perhaps the next trip would begin soon, or it was pay day. Josh didn't give the commotion much notice as he tried to squeeze into the main entrance. A strong hand stopped him.

"Do you have an appointment," a giant of man looked down at Josh.

"Not necessarily," Josh looked up, feeling a bit uncomfortable in the man's shadow. "We've just landed, and we need to ask Talbot a few questions."

"Everyone needs to ask Talbot a few questions," the man grinned, obviously proud of himself, "but the question is, does Talbot want to answer."

"Listen buddy," the usually more silent and composed Arturus stepped forward. "We don't know what the fuck these people are gathering here for, and frankly, we don't care. As the man said, we need to see Talbot. Now you can either let us through, and he can tell you what it was about after, or you can stand your ground and he can tell you after you gain conscience again."

The guard obviously didn't appreciate the comment. Arturus was drawing from the fact that there was only one visible guard, probably no one wanted to argue with him though because of his size. As the guard stepped forward and opened his mouth to say something, the veteran slid right past him, gripping his wrist and pulling the giant down slightly. With the free hand, Arturus was already jamming his pistol between the guard's ribs. The man went silent.

"We'll be going now," Arturus suggested, "right?"

"Of course," the man nodded frantically, "of course."

"Thought so," Arturus holstered his pistol and followed Josh inside.

The inside of the office was less hectic and barely resembled the outside environment. Everything seemed sterile clean as Josh walked down mostly empty hallways populated only by a handful of guards. Talbot's office was at the end of the corridor, just as Josh assumed it would be. He knocked for a few seconds before opening the door and stepping in.

Talbot was a middle aged man, probably on the latter side of that description. His hair was showing some signs of turning grey, but that only added to his look of wisdom. He was looking over some files, with tired looking eyes. He looked beat down and tired by whatever it was his job entailed. As Josh and Arturus entered his office.

"Talbot?" Josh asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Yeah?" Talbot spread his hands, gesturing the obvious.

"Just need to ask you one quick question," Josh suggested, still unsure whether or not he wanted to go in.

"A question I may have the answer to?" Talbot made sure that his visitors knew he was busy, his tone indicating his disposition the best.

"Look," Josh walked in and became more stern too, he didn't feel like wasting time. "We were told you might know something…"

"By…"

"By a man," Josh held back from snapping at the man from impatience, "he didn't give us his name. He said you are the man with the answers."

"A notion everyone else seems to side with these days," Talbot sighed. "Very well, if that gets rid of you fast… Lay it on me."

"We're looking for a quarian," Josh just came out with it, they were losing time and stretching it out any longer. "I've got information that suggests she is on Terra Nova, though her exact location is unknown."

"And now you just go around asking for her everywhere?" Talbot smiled questionably. "Probably not the best course of action for Terra Nova. I doubt many people would know, and those that would wouldn't be too happy."

"Well," Josh nodded, "let's hope no one finds out."

"Look," Talbot crossed his hands, "I have no times to discuss a theoretical location for a hypothetical quarian . I've got real problems around here. I've got the outside officials breathing down my neck to hire outside employees in order to speed up the population growth as well as research developments, and to downsize the current human roster. In reaction, I got the union right outside screaming about human rights. And you come to me with a bullshit problem. I'm sorry, now just isn't the time."

"Understandable," Josh got up, "if you hear anything, I'd still appreciate if you let me know."

"I'll send a message to your ship," Talbot agreed, letting the men walk out.

"Dead end," Arturus said as they made it outside, "I suppose what's left is searching the entirety of the planet's surface and hoping we get lucky."

"Let's see what L'vina has for us first," Josh suggested, turning on his communicator.

"Took you long enough," the asari sounded overly relaxed, "find anything?"

"Nope," Josh replied.

"So what are you going to give me for good news?" L'vina joked.

"We'll see on how good it is," Josh said but neither him nor Arturus slowed down.

"I found a few classified files, just _lying_ around the security office," L'vina continued. "They start as far back as the x57 incident, but go one further. There is a documented discovery of an 'outsider' living beyond the colony. They don't specifically mention the name, but it could be our girl. Says she set up a camp right on the outskirts. They have been monitoring it for a few months now."

"Well," Josh suggested, "we've got nothing else to work on, may at least check it out. Meet us beyond the colony."

Josh disconnected and looked at Arturus, the soldier was in the process of lighting another cigarette. The ex-marine seemed to smoke quite a lot. Josh nodded and turned around, heading for the main gates. He didn't say a word, but both of them walked with a sense of determination now. Even if the alien in question wasn't the one they were looking for, which Josh found doubtful, it was a step forward. It was good that someone in the security headquarters had a sense of mind to not be hostile towards anything that wasn't human. Perhaps diplomacy wasn't dead after all.

MExMExMExMExME

The shuttle ride to the outskirts was a silent one. The rented rover handled much better than the Mako, but provided little in terms of offensive capabilities. Luckily, the colony was well defended and Josh wasn't expecting much resistance. L'vina was still somewhere in the colony, the Asari proposed that she stays behind and investigate just in case the information she got in the first place wasn't reliable.

As they were pulling closer to the specified location Josh spotted a few surveillance spots. A normal person wouldn't exactly pay attention to the tiniest details. He spotted a few unnatural rock formations as well as a few spots up high, hollowed out for keeping watch over something. A few more miles in Josh decided to pull the rover to the side of the path and proceed on foot.

"You know where we have to look exactly," Arturus grumbled as they got out of the rover, lighting another cigarette.

"I have a feeling," Josh answered, extending a hand to grab a smoke from his partner, "that if we're in the right place, she'll find us."

"What do you mean?"

"Can't you feel it?" Josh asked as they proceeded towards a slight opening in the woods. "We're being watched, right now."

"Hate that feeling," Arturus agreed, gripping his gun for comfort as he followed Josh.

They walked very slowly, Josh tried to get his bearings quickly, but in the meanwhile he just focused on not getting further away from the rover. When the time was right he was sure Iiri would find them, if she was around here. He felt Arturus bend over to check something on the ground. In that exact moment he also felt the barrel of a gun against his temple.

"Hello," he felt a slight hum of the Quarian respirator over the female voice, "welcome to my humble domain."

"I let my eye of you for one second," Arturus looked up from the ground, but the Quarian quickly caught his gaze and nodded disapprovingly.

"We're here to talk," Josh felt calmly, not at all troubled by the thought of the cold steel against his head.

"Talk," the Quarian suggested.

"Like most people," Josh went on, "I am slightly uncomfortable with the thought of my brains being blown out at any moment."

"That's unfortunate," the Quarian said sarcastically, "would you like me to blow his brains out instead?"

"Try it," Arturus smiled, still not twitching, his hand inching slowly towards his own pistol. Josh had to gesture for the man not to.

"I told the colonists that I mean no harm," the Quarian went on, "I arrived after the incident and have not been a threat to them at all. I don't see any reason for anyone to come back and explain the rules to me again."

"I'm not part of the colony," Josh suggested, trying to shift into eye contact. "I have a proposition for you, assuming you are the person I am looking for. Iiri right?"

The Quarian paused for a second. Judging by the way in which the gun was pressed against his temple Josh could tell Iiri tensed up. She most likely didn't expect anyone to know her name, or even trace her to this location to begin with. This could go either of the two ways, she could feel threatened or slightly more relaxed considering that they weren't a threat representing the colony.

"My name is Josh," he came clean, "I just feel I know your name you should know mine. I am putting together a squad."

"That's great," Iiri didn't sound to impressed by the possibility. Arturus repositioned and actually got up, still keeping his hands in plain view.

"I came to offer you a way out of here," Josh wouldn't back down.

"What makes you think I want out?" the Quarian didn't leave an opening.

"Nothing," Arturus butted in again, "looks like you got quite a luxury set up out here."

"I wasn't talking to you," Iiri snapped at Josh's squad mate.

"Hope that you won't have to ever if you say no," Arturus snapped back, but Iiri quickly brought up her second hand, another pistol ready, trailed straight at the ex-marine's head, stopping him in his tracks. She then turned back to Josh, "go on… Sell your little squad."

"Look," Josh kept eyeing the steel by his temple, "you can take the gun away, I think I've proven I am no threat."

"Yes, _you_ have," Iiri lowered one gun from Josh's temple, her other one remained trained solely on Arturus.

"You don't entertain guests much do you," the ex-marine didn't give up.

"I understand that you've lived this way for a long time," Josh relaxed a bit, but he still didn't move much in fear of freaking out the quarian."This is something different. You have certain skills that are going to waste."

"My father lived like that," Iiri responded, "he taught me to survive like this. I've got everything I need right here."

"I doubt he wanted to live on like this," Josh pressed on, "to stay isolated from society as a whole, he probably wanted more for you than that."

"I enjoy little lessons in psychiatry like this," Iiri marveled, still carefully studying Arturus, "but this is what I enjoy."

"Do you really?" Josh. "Look, you can keep skipping from colony to colony, or you can come with us and give this squad a chance, and in the end, still go back to doing this. Probably at a different location, somewhere where they're not planning to relocate you forcefully."

"What are you talking about?" Iiri finally paid more attention.

Josh maintained eye contact as he slowly brought up his left hand and keyed in a few strokes on the new omni tool. The information quickly got delivered to Iiri's omni tool. The quarian didn't respond right away, but she also slowly brought up her hand, while still keeping the gun on trailed on Arturus. Iiri studied the information quite carefully. At this moment Josh thanked L'vina for providing some information she gathered and then also falsifying some of it.

"How did you get this," Iiri seemed a bit shaken up by the news.

"I've done my research," Josh responded, "you don't have the luxury of putting together a squad without covering all your bases. You can stay here and let them come around, imprison you and deport you, or worse. On the other hand you could join us and if you don't like it we'll drop you off on the planet of your choice, no hard feelings."

"He's speaking for himself there," Arturus spoke with somewhat of a grin.

"I'll need time to pack…"


End file.
